money Hate Packing? This Resort’s ‘No Luggage Required’ Option Will Dress You From Head to Toe
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Of all the wonderful things people love about travel—the escape, the exploration, the romance—packing has never made the list. No matter how luxe the wardrobe, crowding it into luggage, to be wrestled into cars and hauled back and forth to airports and hotels, is nobody’s idea of fun. Even shipping your clothes ahead of time, a popular travel hack, alleviates only some of the headache. But the Ocean Club, a sprawling Four Seasons luxury resort in the Bahamas, has a novel solution: Don’t pack at all. Just show up as you are, as a couple or flying solo, and stylists from the Club’s on-site boutique will dress you head to toe, down to your new Versace underwear.
In fact, the No Luggage Required package actually begins a few weeks prior to arrival, with a straightforward questionnaire that covers likes and dislikes, personal style, sizing and color preferences across six categories for guys: swim, tops, pants, dress shirts, shoes, jewelry and accessories (workout gear is another option, if requested). Perhaps in a bid for discretion, the form doesn’t ask for height and weight—the Robb Report tester chose to volunteer his bio data of 5 feet, 10 inches and 160 pounds—though it does inquire after occupation and any occasion for the trip, to help refine the final selections.
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The program relies on the expertise, and inventory, of Carlo Milano, the Ocean Club’s high-fashion retailer operated by brothers Rodney and Carlo Chee-A-Tow, who have been sitting front-row at Milan and Paris fashion shows since they were kids; their family has been in the luxury fashion import business since 1967 and also designs its own line of fine jewelry.
All options on the No Luggage menu come from four major fashion houses—Etro, Roberto Cavalli, Versace and YSL—plus La Perla and relative newcomer Frescobol Carioca, a Brazil-inspired luxury activewear brand that channels the best of the country’s beachy, sun-drenched vibe, including elegant bathing shorts in bright colors; Bottega Veneta and Christian Louboutin will join the portfolio come spring. (While accessories are available from other brands, such as Tom Ford eyewear, Chopard jewelry and Hublot watches, if you’re ardently loyal to Gucci or Brunello, for example, this may not be the package for you.)
The program has three tiers: at $7,500 per person, the Beachgoer focuses on laid-back looks—gray Etro shorts paired with a Frescobal white linen shirt and Versace flip-flops, for example—while the Weekender, at $15,000 per person, excels at a range of day-to-night options and can include everything from a clever Compilation Print Hoodie, for $1,275, and pin-striped blazer from Versace Cruise to white Saint Laurent Alpha Sigma sneakers and Persol sunglasses. At $50,000 per traveler, the Jetsetter is the crème de la crème: The package includes both daytime and evening wear options—think a vibrant Etro shirt paired with white jeans, a black dinner jacket and patent-leather derby lace-ups, all from YSL—as well as some fashion for the wrist in the form of, say, the $17,800 Hublot Classic Fusion Aerofusion Moonphase Black Magic (you could also opt for the Classic Fusion Ceramic Blue).
Styling can take place in the privacy of your oceanfront villa or at the chic, 700-square-foot Carlo Milano boutique, the latter being more conducive to sipping Champagne and snacking on fare from Dune, the property’s Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant. The service is peak personal shopping, experienced and attentive, with a pair of stylists helping coordinate looks, ensuring your swim trunks are the perfect length and finding your new favorite tote, like a $3,350 leather number from YSL.
And no need to worry you’ll end up with a stash of new clothes suitable only for a tropical vacation (though you could, if that’s your thing). From YSL Chelsea boots to black Versace denim and patterned Etro T-shirts, the curation can be universally appropriate, and likely able to complement whatever’s in your closet at home. (If you’ve sprung for the Jetsetter package, they’ll even ship it back for you, free of charge.) For our volunteer, the result was near-perfect sizing in eight different outfits put together by the Carlo Milano staff, who channeled Milano’s personal style and strictly adhered to a preference for no shoes with tassels or man jewelry.
Not long ago, arriving with trolleys full of luggage was a jet-set status symbol, while no bags meant an unfortunate airline snafu. Now, stacks of suitcases seem like an unnecessary and inelegant hassle. Showing up empty-handed is the real travel power move.
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